Information services and data processing industries in general have rapidly expanded as a result of the need for computer systems to manage and store large amounts of data. As an example, financial service companies such as banks, mutual fund companies and the like now, more than ever before, require access to many hundreds of gigabytes or even terabytes of data and files stored in high capacity data storage systems. Other types of service companies have similar needs for data storage.
Data storage system developers have responded to the increased need for storage by integrating high capacity data storage systems, data communications devices (e.g., switches), and computer systems (e.g., host computers or servers) into so-called “storage networks” or “Storage Area Networks” (SANs.)
In general, a storage area network is a collection of data storage systems that are networked together via a switching fabric to a number of host computer systems operating as servers. The host computers access data stored in the data storage systems (of a respective storage area network) on behalf of client computers that request data from the data storage systems. For example, according to conventional applications, upon receiving a storage access request, a respective host computer in the storage area network accesses a large repository of storage through the switching fabric of the storage area network on behalf of the requesting client. Thus, via the host computer (e.g., server), a client has access to the shared storage system through the host computer. In many applications, storage area networks support hi-speed acquisitions of data so that the host servers are able to promptly retrieve and store data from the data storage system.
Conventional storage area network management applications typically include a graphical user interface (GUI) that enables a network manager to graphically manage, control, and configure various types of hardware and software resources associated with a corresponding managed storage area network. For example, one conventional storage management application generates a graphical user interface utilized by a storage administrator to graphically select, interact with, and manage local or remote devices and software processes associated with the storage area network. Based on use of the graphical user interface in combination with an input device such as a hand operated mouse and corresponding pointer displayed on a viewing screen, a storage administrator is able to manage hardware and software entities such as file systems, databases, storage devices, volumes, peripherals, network data communications devices, etc., associated with the storage area network. Consequently, a storage management station and associated management software enables a storage administrator (a person responsible for managing the storage network) to manage the storage area network and its resources.
One way of managing resources associated with the storage area network is to maintain so-called managed objects in a respective database. In general, a managed object is a software entity that defines a corresponding hardware or software resource of the storage area network. The network administrator utilizes the managed objects to identify different resources associated with the storage area network.
A set of managed objects can form an object hierarchy. A “top level” object (e.g., an object at a highest tier) associated with the hierarchy represents a particular storage resource (e.g., storage system) in the storage area network. Objects in the hierarchy beneath the “top level” object represent hardware or software resources of the storage area network associated with the particular storage resource. Accordingly, a hierarchy of managed objects can define specific resources and corresponding sub-resources in the storage area network associated with a respective storage system.
A storage administrator typically configures the storage area network to include multiple storage systems by creating and maintaining multiple object hierarchies. As suggested above, each object hierarchy represents a unique storage system (e.g., portion of resources) associated with the storage area network. Certain resources can be shared among multiple storage systems. Thus, multiple object hierarchies associated with the storage area network can include the same managed object. Other resources of the storage area network can be exclusively used by a particular one of the defined storage systems.
In addition to maintaining managed objects and corresponding data in a database that define a respective configuration of a respective storage area network environment, a management control center can also maintain other types of related data in the same centrally located database. For example, the management control center can store so-called “services-related” information (or other data related to managed objects) in the same database as the managed objects. An example of a service (e.g., an alert) having corresponding services-related data stored in the centrally located database is a monitoring process that detects whether a respective storage system (as defined by the managed objects in the database) has been filled to capacity. The centrally located database can simultaneously store services related information for many corresponding services.